I’m afraid. Is this really something that I can do myself?

If your 10 year old cousin can build a Millennium Falcon out of legos, you can swap out your iPhone battery. Don’t believe us? Watch one of our repair videos and read through a step-by-step guide first to see if you’re up to the task. If you still need a confidence boost, check out these success stories submitted by users just like you.

We’ve taught hundreds of thousands of people to do this. It requires care and attention to detail — but you can do that! Right? You got this!

But more importantly, US law states that third-party modifications or service (like battery replacements) cannot void the warranty, unless the manufacturer can demonstrate that the repair damaged the device. Look into Magnuson–Moss if you want to know your rights here.

Why is there a a #$*^& shipping charge? Can’t you just do it for free?

Shipping smartphone batteries used to be like shipping socks, until a certain Note started catching fire and causing panic aboard airplanes. Nowadays, there are a lot of goofy restrictions when shipping li-ion batteries, with some deliveries taking as long as two months depending on the shipping carrier. In response to these issues, if your order contains a battery, we ship it via UPS Ground by default—more expensive, but much faster and more reliable in comparison.

That being said, if you prefer our $5 USPS First-Class Mail shipping option and you don’t mind risking a long delay for your battery:

Go to your Order History and click “Request Change” on the order within 30 minutes of the order being placed.

Call or send us an email (support@ifixit.com) letting us know you want to change the shipping method to USPS First-Class Mail.

Wait, don’t other places offer free shipping?

Our battery shipments are securely packed and properly hazmat-labeled. When you buy an iPhone battery from someone offering free shipping, we can’t tell you for certain if that someone is simply fibbing to the carrier to dodge the hazmat fees—but, that’s probably what’s happening. If you feel comfortable buying your allegedly high-quality parts there, hey, don’t let us stop you.

We’re working tirelessly to make this better, but there aren’t any shortcuts. (If you ship your iPhone to Apple for repair, you’ll pay $7 for shipping there, too.)

How long will it take me to do the repair?

The short answer: Not too long; depends on which iPhone you have.

The longer answer: Check the battery replacement guide for your iPhone to get an idea of what’s involved. An iPhone 4S battery can be swapped out by almost anyone in about 10 minutes, while an iPhone 7 can take an hour or more if you go whole-hog and replace the waterproof adhesive liner when you’re done. Other iPhone models lie somewhere in between.

No matter which iPhone you have, this isn’t the sort of thing you should do in a hurry—as with any repair, working patiently and carefully is the key to success, while working 20 minutes before you have to catch a bus is the key to tardiness and/or tears.

When can I expect my iFixit battery to arrive?

UPS Ground offers guaranteed 5 business day delivery timeframes. The closer you are to California, the sooner it’ll arrive. We see that batteries sent to the East Coast often take 4-5 business days to arrive.

The best way to see when your sweet new battery will arrive is to add it to your cart, go through the first stage of the Checkout process and you’ll be shown the expected delivery window. If you decide you want the cheaper option through USPS First-Class Mail, please keep in mind that this method is not guaranteed to arrive by an expected date and is subject to delays in transit.

Are your batteries OEM?

Our batteries are made to the same specifications and ratings as an OEM part, but cannot be classified as ‘OEM’ because they are not made by Apple. Apple doesn’t like to sell OEM parts to anyone, so they are extremely hard to find. Our parts are brand new, fully tested, and come with an industry-leading warranty. You can learn more about our parts quality standards over here.

If you see someone else advertising their iPhone batteries as OEM, beware.

What if I don’t live near an Apple Store, but don’t want to do the repair myself?

Doing it yourself might be easier than you think, but we understand if you’d prefer to let a professional handle it. Click here to find someone who can help with that.

What if my iPhone is too old for Apple’s battery replacement program?

We’ve got you covered. Apple’s new program pertains to specific models, but really any iPhone with a tired battery will benefit from a new one. No matter how old or new your iPhone may be, we want to help you keep it running at peak performance for years to come—we’ve got parts, tools, and free repair guides for every iPhone released since 2008.

Okay. Can I just make my own iPhone battery?

Sure, but we’re not telling you the secret ingredient.

Is it sriracha?

Okay, you got us there. Pretty much everything is better with sriracha.

What if I have more questions you haven’t thought of?

Drop your question in the comments below and we’ll ask our mom. If you have a question about a specific order that you’ve already placed, visit our Customer Support page.